Empowering food security through digital villages: mechanisms, regional heterogeneity and policy insights from China

Introduction Food security constitutes a fundamental pillar of national development. Digital-village construction (DVC) plays a critical role in enhancing food security levels (FSL), yet the full scope of its impacts has not been comprehensively examined. Methods This study uses panel data from 31 Chinese provinces from 2011 to 2023 and employs a two-way fixed effects model to evaluate the effects of DVC on FSL and its spatial impacts. Results The results indicate that DVC significantly improves local FSL, with particularly strong effects in major grain-producing regions. However, the cross-regional spillover of these effects remains limited. The mechanism analysis shows that this effect operates through two primary channels: agricultural technology training coverage and land productivity, with government scale playing a positive moderating role. Discussion Based on these findings, regionally differentiated promotion mechanisms should be established. Prioritizing digital literacy cultivation, enhancing agricultural digital service capacity, improving platform-based data coordination systems, and strengthening fiscal support with performance-oriented governance are essential steps.